


who i am within this body

by OverlyCheerfulRat



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autism, Caretaking, Cerebral Palsy, Deformed Yennefer, Disability, F/M, Physical Disability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22996345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyCheerfulRat/pseuds/OverlyCheerfulRat
Summary: Jaskier has severe cerebral palsy, and Geralt is his caretaker.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	who i am within this body

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [I Have No Secrets](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/563965) by Penny Joelson. 



Before Geralt, there were five other aides. Jaskier forgot all their names before they left, and he sometimes wondered if they even remembered his. So when a huge guy with long white hair walked in, he hardly paid attention, tuning out his mother explaining the long list of medical problems and care needs. He was expecting the guy to either ignore him or greet him like a child, but after his mother left them alone together, he bent down in front of Jaskier's wheelchair to be at eye level with him. 

"My name is Geralt Rivia," he mumbled in a deep, gravelly voice, the farthest thing from baby talk Jaskier had ever heard. He looked closer at the aide, taking in how handsome he was and how muscular he looked. He'd have no trouble lifting him, at least, but then Jaskier was so small that none of the aides ever did.

He noticed that Geralt hadn't met his eyes once, and that he had golden irises. "I'm autistic," Geralt told him in a quiet voice. "Decided to become an aide to help other people like me. Your parents told me you're eighteen, so I won't talk down to you. I think you can understand me." Just like that, Geralt firmly established himself as Jaskier's favorite person in the world.

Later that week, Geralt discovered that Jaskier loved music when he turned on the radio in the kitchen while feeding him. Jaskier's eyes lit up and he laughed involuntarily, his arm jerking sharply. Geralt looked at him in surprise. "Do you like the song?" He wasn't expecting an answer, and he didn't get one, but he turned the music up anyway, much to Jaskier's delight. He'd already decided he loved Geralt, but now he thought he'd happily die for him.

Four years passed, and Geralt was always there, always talking to Jaskier like an equal and playing music for him. Jaskier learned how to read his face, and Geralt in turn learned to tell what he needed with a single glance. The happiest day of Jaskier's life was when his parents sat down in the living room with Geralt (and Jaskier, but they ignored him completely) to talk about "different living arrangements." "Our son really seems to love you," his mother said carefully. "And we- well, we're thinking about moving, but it would break his heart to leave you. Obviously we can't ask you to come with us, but is there any way... could he live with you?"

Jaskier didn't hear what Geralt said over his own ecstatic shriek, his mouth curling into a crooked smile and his skinny legs kicking. The answer was yes anyway, and by the end of the month his father was hugging him carefully, like he might break him, and his mother was cooing, "Won't this be fun? Yes, yes it will!" 

Geralt remained an excellent caretaker after Jaskier moved in with him, maybe even better since he was with him almost all the time. He had a second job, something on the internet that he'd explained but Jaskier didn't care about, and everything was perfect until Geralt hung up the phone and smiled almost shyly at Jaskier. "I have a date," he said simply, flapping his hands the way he only did when he was very, very happy. 

Jaskier tried to be excited for Geralt, telling himself that of course he couldn't be the only person in his aide's life forever, and it was easier when he saw the girl. She was different, like the two of them- her jaw was deformed, and she had a noticeable hunchback and twisted spine. Her eyes were beautiful, though, and she smiled at Jaskier. "I'm Yennefer Vengerberg," she said kindly, taking his curled hand and shaking it. "Geralt told me all about you. We met on a chatroom for people with disabilities, and we found we live in the same city, so this is our first real date." Geralt had already told him this, but Jaskier listened anyway.

He'd also been asked if he minded being watched by Calanthe Riannon, who lived in the apartment next door, and he didn't. She smiled at him, shook hands with Geralt and Yennefer, made sure she had a phone number for emergencies, and then stood next to him until they left. When they did, she looked down at him with a cold frown. "My grandaughter is retarded, too," she commented. Jaskier's heart sank in his chest. It had been so long since anyone called him that, since anyone looked at his body and assumed there was no one inside. 

Logically, he assumed strangers in public jumped to that conclusion, but they didn't say it to his face. Jaskier was under no illusions about how he looked- he was always leaning to one side, hunched in on himself. His limbs often spasmed involuntarily, and he tended to scream at random. He was incontinent and drooled constantly. Still, he thought he was good-looking and knew he was intelligent, and firmly believed that if anyone bothered to just pay attention to him, like Geralt had, they'd see that.

Calanthe obviously had no intention of that. She pushed his wheelchair to the couch, none too gently, sat down next to him, and turned on the TV without a word. They sat in silence for the duration of her time there.

After Geralt finally got home (alone, after dropping Yennefer off at her place) she cheerfully lied that they'd had "so much fun!" "Jaskier is such a sweet little thing," she laughed, patting his head like he was a dog. "If you ever need a babysitter again, just ask." Geralt rolled his eyes behind her back as she left. When the door closed behind her, he began apologizing to Jaskier. "She was the best I could get on short notice," he explained guiltily. Jaskier's head flopped to the side and he moaned, wishing he could convey his annoyance better, or at all. 

Yennefer spent more and time at the apartment, and eventually moved in. She had a beautiful singing voice, and liked to braid sections of Jaskier's hair in the morning. Geralt wasn't afraid to stim in front of her, and Jaskier suspected they'd get engaged but never worried about being ignored or left out. They made a good family.


End file.
